Much like the 2014 version, this 2016 is fairly lush and creamy, with lemon curd, almond paste, ripe pear, hazelnut, and some faint earth. An agreeable wine to be sure, with enough acid and grip to…
A medium bodied-delivery of black cherry, earth, and some subtle spice. Medium-to-light on the back end. Soft a gentle on the finish, with black cherry and alcohol repeating at the tail end. A little…
Earthy black cherry, wild strawberry, mulch, evergreen, tree bark, stems, forest floor, and some wet rock. Clearly an earth-driven type of Pinot, with a nice dose of fruit flavor to hold interest and…
A solid expression of the Gap's site, reminding me a bit of the Kosta Browne 4-Barrel program (though not as rich or oak infused), this Black Kite decidedly pushes out focused and determined flavors…
Big on the vanilla, creme fraiche, and lemon curd flavors, with a notably rich attack on the front end. Tropical fruit and glycol round out the profile here. The flavors are wonderfully decadent, but…
Certainly young and in the sunrise of just starting to work itself into a more tame animal, this Zinfandel offers up notes of blackberry jam, bitter cherry preserve, white pepper, imitation vanilla,…
Crisp and dry, with quince and lemon juice dominating. Displaying a bit of a reductive quality on the tail end, but not heavily oxidative the way a Krug or aged Champagne can be. Overall light and…
Last minute pull for Thanksgiving. This especially showed like a Burgundy this go-around, even more so than previous experiences. A beautiful wine, if not a bit shy on its delivery of fruit. It never…
I fully concur with fellow CT'er Air Guitar in that this wine really seems to be coming along nicely since I last had it over a year-and-a-half ago. It carries a more cool climate profile overall,…
A spritz-filled PnP gave way to intense and heady flavors of lemon and tropical fruit notes blasting past the palate on the full-bodied attack. Peach, ripe pear, quince, olive oil, buttered popcorn,…
Revisiting this wine after a Coravin pour a week prior. With a little air, this filled out even better than my initial experience. Previous note applies, except that it displayed increased depth and…
Red raspberry, ripe red cherry, evergreen, old cinnamon bark, and subtle citrus. Front-loaded with red fruit on the initial attack; full, round, and fairly plush overall at first. The mid-palate was…
This has put on a bit of weight and progressed rather rapidly since I last had it back in February 2017. Rounder and more accessible (a fairly good thing to some degree), but a little cloyingly…
Red cherry, kirsch, red raspberry, rhubarb, and subtle Tab cola. Clean and pure flavors, with a straightforward attack; especially focused on the back end, with a purposeful and studious finish.…
Coravin pour. This is really starting to find its glide. A bit fruitier than I recall from the beginning of the year, with an inviting attack of red raspberry and cherry, cola, rhubarb, and subtle…
PnP. Same notes as a few months ago. I definitely prefer this over the Kanzler Pinot that I had the other day. This Silver Eagle had some more earth and spice notes to elevate its flavor profile. The…
Fairly typical profile of the Pinots that come out of this house. Cloudy red raspberry, red cherry, orange rind, and some subtle earth. Medium all the way around, with rounded edges that seemed to…
Sonoma County · Green Valley of Russian River Valley
Same notes as last month. A really nice balance between acid/frame/drive and core fruit flavor. Pure, balanced, and elegantly smooth, but also full and unctuous. Especially well-weighted mid-palate,…
Sappy and ripe black and red cherry flavors gush on to the palate with a plush, fruit-forward push that washes over and completely coats the inside of the mouth. A gooey, viscous mouthfeel, with an…
Severely oxidized. Lamp oil and burnt butterscotch. Astringent, bone dry, and lacking any and all freshness. Two of two bottles performed similarly. Not a happy camper...
Previous notes apply, though this is quickly becoming my favorite Chardonnay of the vintage; each time I have this wine I experience more layerings of flavor and depth. This particular bottle was…
A great showing. With some exposure to some decanted air, this was delivering beautifully. It's a big wine of course, but it showed a nice balance and weight this time around. Black, dark fruit, with…
Pervious notes apply. Big on the black cherry fruit flavors. Fun and a bit bombastic this time around. Enough notable frame to hold it all together. Good as a PnP, but I'll try to hold for just a bit…
Muddled strawberry, diluted red and black cherry, orange rind, and subtle spice (cinnamon stick) initiate the attack on this soft, subtle, and cloudy Pinot Noir. It still maintains a notable grip,…
